en - Poor Families Testimonial

In 2005, the Rosado family came to America from El Salvador to find a better life for their two children ages 5 and 8. The father is a highly skilled in computer software, compiling Excel spreadsheets and payroll. The mother stayed home with her children at first. As the children excelled in school both academically as well as socially, the family decided not to return to El Salvador. This close-knit family worked hard to make ends meet. The father washed dishes in a local restaurant because his English is poor and he has no papers. The mother worked many hours in a pie-making factory, but the family was happy.

They befriended a staff member at Pernet Family Health Service. Their immigration status was precarious. They started the process of applying for citizenship but had to borrow $10,000 from a relative for legal fees. In 2012, the family came in to Pernet Family Health Service to see what we could do to help them. We referred them to the Irish Immigration Center which was run by a Little Sister of the Assumption and they were connected to an attorney. But they had to pay another $5,000.

Because the children, now 15 and 18 years old, have been in school in the United States for ten years, they qualify for the DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors).The daughter is doing well in college and both children have legal immigration status. But the parents have not. Every time the immigration laws get discussed, the family is in fear. Although the children may stay in the US, the parents may be deported at any time. They are good people raising a good family and should be allowed to live and work here in peace.